"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you will find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"
-- Verse from the Minstrel Boy

Saturday, December 17, 2005

"KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- Suspected Taliban guerrillas dragged a teacher from a classroom of teenagers in southern Afghanistan and killed him at the school gate after he ignored their orders to stop teaching girls, police said on Friday.

The attack was carried out by two armed men who arrived at the secondary school in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province by motorcycle on Thursday, Helmand police chief Abdul Rahman Sabir told Reuters.

'They dragged the teacher from the classroom and shot him at the school gate,' he said.
'He had received many warning letters from the Taliban to stop teaching, but he continued to to do so happily and honestly -- he liked to teach boys and girls,' Sabir said.
He identified the teacher by the single name, Laghmani.

The fundamentalist Taliban banned education of girls during their rule before being overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

The guerrillas have carried out a series of attacks in the provinces on schools teaching girls since them, often burning them down at night"